The present invention relates to a head for kegs of pressurized drinks.
In the field of drinks distribution from dispensing systems provided with dispensers, the drinks to be distributed, generally carbonated, are contained in pressurized kegs. Such kegs must be connected, on one side, to the drinks dispenser and, on the other, to a line of pressurized gaseous carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, pressing on the free surface of liquid, causes the liquid to exit from a suction system towards a line connecting to the dispenser.
To obtain this dual connection of the keg to the carbon dioxide line and to the dispenser, heads are used which are connected, by means of various types of couplings (for instance, sliding, triangular or bayonet), to the upper face of the keg in correspondence with a shutter. In general the body of the headers for kegs of pressurized drinks has an inlet for a line conveying pressurized carbon dioxide, which is connected in a vertical guide of a tubular member. Internally to the tubular member is obtained a duct for the passage of the liquid contained in the keg. The upper end of the tubular member is external to the guide and bears a rubber-holder or an attachment for the line conveying the drink to the dispenser. With the head connected to the keg, when the tubular member is raised, its lower end remains distanced from the shutter, which stays shut. When the tubular member is lowered, its lower end opens the shutter of the keg and is connected to the suction system, whilst, simultaneously, the carbon dioxide can enter the keg, exert its pressure on the free surface of the liquid and thrust the drink outwards. The tubular member is actuated by means of an operating fork positioned astride the tubular member and hinged to the end of its two tines on the body of the head at the opposite side of the tubular member relative to the stem of the fork. The operating fork can be rotated in the plane of lay of the tubular member, acting manually on the stem. Geometric interference means between the fork and the tubular member determine the motion of the tubular member according to the motion of the fork itself. The operating fork can be locked in one of its extreme positions (corresponding to the two extreme positions of the tubular member for opening and closing the shutter), or released to move the tubular member.
Heads for kegs of pressurized drinks are known in which a knob, inserted coaxially on the stem, is operatively connected to a pin that is partially internal and coaxial to the stem. The pin projects towards the tines of the fork. On the body of the head, in correspondence with the two extreme positions of the operating fork, two seats for the insertion of the pin are obtained. Pulling the knob along the axis of the stem, therefore, it is possible to disengage the pin from the first (or from the second) seat and move the fork to the second (or to the first) seat. Elastic contrast means cause the pin to engage in this latter second (or first) seat, locking the operating fork again.
The heads described above have some drawbacks.
The operation is awkward, because, in order to overcome the force of the elastic contrast means and disengage the pin, the knob must be moved away from the body of the head along the axis of the stem of the operating fork. Moreover, between the knob and the pin, mechanical backlashes are present (or easily emerge with use) that can make imprecise the operation of the device.
Also known are heads for kegs of pressurized drinks, in which the stem of the operating fork is constituted by a substantially rectilinear box element, whose cross section is shaped substantially as an inverse xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d. In the stem, in correspondence with the body of the head, is partially inserted and hinged an end of an operating lever, which is also box-like, substantially rectilinear and with a length comparable to that of the stem, having xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d shaped cross section opposite that of the stem. The lever and the stem are kept mutually diverging by elastic contrast means and define, in proximity to the hinge, a mortise for the insertion of a tenon integral with the body of the head. At rest, the distance between stem and lever progressively grows moving away from the body of the head.
When the lever is set down on the tenon, the operating fork is rotated upwards, the tubular member is raised and the shutter is closed. When the tenon is inserted in the mortise, the operating fork is rotated downwards, thetubular member is lowered and the shutter is open. To move from one position to the other, the operating lever has to be disengaged from the tenon. This can be done by simultaneously gripping and mutually approaching the stem and the operating lever in opposition against the action of the elastic contrast means.
Although it allows for a better grip and a more agile maneuver, this type of heads for kegs of pressurized drinks, however, is also not free of drawbacks.
During the motion of the lever relative to the stem, which is necessary to operate the fork and hence the tubular member, the palm of the operator""s hand and his/her fingers are exposed to the free edges of the box elements constituting the lever and the stem where the lever at least partially telescopes into the stem thereby giving rise to scissors, with the consequent risks of cuts or wounds to the operator.
The aim of the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks, making available a head for kegs of pressurized drinks which allows easily to open and close the shutter without any hazards of wounds or cuts to the operator""s hands.
Another aim of the present invention is to make available a head for kegs of pressurized drinks that is ergonomic and convenient to use.
These aims and others beside, which shall become more readily apparent from the description that follows, are achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by a head for kegs of pressurized drinks as described in the accompanying claims.